Suit of Honor

The Board of Legislators has fought virtually every effort to rein in spending in Westchester County.  Now they are now attempting to sue me to spend money taxpayers don’t have! You can’t make this stuff up. And guess who will be paying for the lawsuit?  You will be.

Westchester County is facing a $166 million deficit, so we must make sensible spending reductions. No one enjoys cutting back, but Westchester has to address its addiction to spending and our status as the highest taxed county in America. More spending equals higher taxes, and I will not allow that.

A Fair Rx for Westchester

Did you know that until recently every county employee’s health benefits were paid in full by you, the taxpayer? My first attempt toward a cure for our county’s financial ills was to tackle this issue head on. It was simple: non-union county workers, like me, had to start paying 15% of their salary toward health contributions. It is only fair, considering that virtually every one working in the private sector today has to pay something toward his health benefits.

After months of hand wringing and obstruction from the Democrats on the Board of Legislators (and my exercise of the first veto in Westchester government in 13 years), we reached a compromise. Many employees will start paying a percentage of their income toward the county’s health plan based on their salary.

It’s a small win. But a necessary one.

Protecting Taxpayers First

Safeguarding your hard earned-tax dollars was what you elected me to do. So I started my new job by making an easy decision: I cut the county executive’s full-time security detail, which saved taxpayers $400,000 and I drive myself to work, as I said I would.

And I haven’t stopped looking for all kinds of ways that we can scale back some of the county governments excesses. You and I understand how some seemingly small expenditures can add up, forcing us to live beyond our means. Unfortunately, the Board of Legislators does not get it and opposed even my effort to save $86,000 of tax money by disbanding the county’s equestrian unit.

I love horses as much as anyone, but in a time where nurses and teachers have to be cut, I cannot rationalize the continued use of horse patrols.  In this debilitating tax environment, parade horses are a luxury we are going to have to live without.